Galway – Clare – County Trail Ride Itinerary
For four days you will be discovering Ireland's beautiful nature and colourful history on horseback. Your horse will be carrying you on this post to post trail ride about 80km from rural County Galway westwards through the beautiful countryside of County Clare.
We ride on forest tracks, quiet country lanes and across bog land.
All riders wanting to join our Galway Clare County trail ride have to be physically fit and safe riders in the outdoors in a group of horses at all paces.
We ride up to 6 hours daily.
Our max weight limit is 85Kg/185lbs and we do NOT use western saddles!
2026 dates
May
02nd - 07th May
16th - 21st May
30th May - 04th June
June
13th - 18th June
27th June - 02nd July
July
11th - 16th July
25th - 30th July
August
08th - 13th August
22nd - 27th August
Day 1 - Saturday
Arrival to our unique old-world guest house at our An Sibin Riding Centre, where you will stay for five nights.
For the next four days you will enjoy a different guided trail ride every day, while the horses stay on a new pasture each night. To cover this 80Km post to post trail ride, we mix walk, trot and canter on our varied terrain.
On the arrival day you can just relax and recover from your journey, or take a stroll on the walking trails with our happy dogs around our property.
In the evening, you will get to know all your fellow riders for this ride. You will have dinner in the tastefully restored 300-year-old farmhouse in our An Sibin Riding Centre by candlelight and turf fire.
Day 2 - Sunday
After breakfast you will be brought to the start of the trail, where your guide will allocate the horses according to your experience. Every rider can then get used to his horse for the week by brushing and tacking up - don’t worry there are always lots of helping hands around you!
We will then leave for an easy ride across the extensive areas of bog land. In this area the local farmers cut and dry the turf/peat in the traditional way. A Neolithic dolmen - with the legendary name Oisin`s and Grainne`s Grave - beside the track proves that this area was already mystified about 5000 years ago. Much more recent (about 9th century) are the ruins of the monastic settlement on Holy Island, which we can easily spot by the typical round tower.
We finish the first day ride on one of our fields where the horses stay overnight and we drive back to the An Sibin guesthouse for lunch. For the afternoon riders and horses take a rest and enjoy a relaxing evening.
Day 3 - Monday
Today’s ride brings us across huge areas of heather and bog land with fascinating views over the majestic Lough Derg and River Shannon.
Along the track we will be passing old farm ruins and miles of stonewalls and your guide will tell you about Ireland's most significant social crisis in history: About 180 years ago many farms and villages where deserted during to the Irish Potato Famine. The potato crop failed for successive years and thus the sole source of food supply was lost to the rural and poor Irish peasant and their livestock. In addition to the period of mass starvation, diseases spread rapidly and enforced the disaster, leading to a flood of thousands of people emigrating to other countries.
After our lunch break in the forest we will head on along the surrounding peaceful trails through the Slieve Aughty Mountains and ride past some rural farms to a new overnight field for the horses.
Day 4 - Tuesday
Leaving the sheltered pasture we are heading this morning for the top of the hills overlooking endless woods and grazing land to the north, west and south.
Long before we get there, we can spot the sandy shores of Lough Graney where we are heading for. On this ride, we will be splashing right across the gentle lapping lake with our horses!
The ride in the later afternoon takes us through typical farmland of rural Ireland with its fresh green fields and the endless old stone walls surrounding the peacefully grazing sheep and cattle.
Day 5 - Wednesday
Today we ride on the typical, old and narrow country lanes of the rural West of Ireland. Along tranquil forest tracks to wide open boggy uplands, where County Clare unfolds all around us with views of the in the distance rising mountains of County Tipperary.
A colourful array of wild flowers like Gorse, Rhododendron, Foxglove, Fuchsia and Heather line the trails.
At the end of this ride we will finish on one of our fields, where the horses are happily turned out.
Day 6 - Thursday
Today it's time to say "slan abhaile" (good bye) after breakfast and get on your onwards journey.
This trail itinerary might change due to weather conditions or circumstances beyond our control without prior notice...